OU Women's Gymnastics Blows Past Denver

The No. 3 University of Oklahoma women's gymnastics team knocked off No. 11 Denver in the Sooners' home opener, defeating the Pioneers 197.325-195.850 on Friday in front of 2,389 fans at the Lloyd Noble Center.

The Sooners registered the best score in a home opener in team history and the 10th-highest team ever by an OU squad.

OU was led by a 39.550 all-around score from junior Taylor Spears. Spears posted event wins on both vault (9.900) and beam (9.925). Freshman Keeley Kmieciak registered a 9.900 to win the bar title, while freshman Haley Scaman posted a 9.925 to win floor.

The crowd of 2,389, second-most in program history, cheered on the Sooners as they finished out on the floor, with OU scoring a 49.425, including Scaman's 9.925 and a 9.9 from senior Brie Olson.

"We had an incredible crowd," Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler said. "I can't tell you how great that is for our athletes. You could see when they competed floor they just sucked the energy out of the crowd and put in into their floor routines. I hope it was entertaining for everyone who was here."

Oklahoma posted season highs on all four events, including a 49.350 on beam and identical 49.275 on vault and bars.

The Sooners started off strong on vault in the first event of the night, with Spears' securing a 9.9 and Olson earning a 9.875. On beam, OU earned 9.875 scores from Lauren Alexander and Erica Brewer, rounding out with a 9.925 from Spears.

"I thought the beam rotation tonight was phenomenal," said Kindler. "I also really liked how the first half of our vault rotation really knocked it out. They were totally solid and I was really impressed with them."

The Sooners will next compete at the Metroplex Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas, against Georgia, LSU, Washington and Oregon State on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. CT.